What To Do When Things Go Wrong

 "You’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem."

 Eldridge Cleaver

Imagine you are on a vacation, one you have paid a lot of money for, and have spent many months anticipating.  It is a tour you booked through a company.  But things are not quite the way you pictured them.  Things are not going smoothly, for what ever reason.  Do you continue along with the tour and complain when you get home, or do you take action to change things while you are on the trip.  And if you decide on the last, how do you go about doing that.

We recently took a trip to Africa.  The trip was very expensive, probably the most expensive trip we have ever taken.  And yes it was through a tour company.  Going to Africa is possible on your own, but certainly easier with a tour company, which will set everything up for you.  We thought the trip was excellent.  Sure, there were a few little snafu's, but after all it is Africa, so some allowances should be made.  But there were several in our group who were not happy.  We didn't even realize they weren't happy, because the way things were set up, we didn't always have interaction with other members of the group.  We were separated into 3 different land rovers for our daily safari's, and we tended to stick with the same group even in the evenings, to a certain extent.  So we were surprised when we found out that some of the group did not feel they were getting the right service.

At the Tanzania Border
We had vendors and others who approached us 

Everything was fine with the whole group until we crossed the border into Tanzania.  We had to wait at the border to pick up new drivers and tour guides, because the law says that the drivers from Kenya cannot continue on into Tanzania.  In a perfect world the new drivers would have been there waiting for us, since they knew we were arriving.  However, we did have to wait for over an hour.  We found out that the Tanzania drivers had a flat tire, and they got delayed partly because of that.  But our Kenyan drivers stayed with us until they arrived, and yes, it was hot, and yes there were people there who were asking for handouts and to sell us things.  I did not have a problem with that, having seen the roads throughout Africa I could certainly understand how there could be delays, and I was enjoying interacting with the people, and even bought a few things.  But that was a major complaint of some of the group.

Some also complained that the luxury tents we had along the way were not as luxurious as they thought they would be.  I personally found them to be quite comfortable, and felt they were part of the experience. 

One person in our group was traveling with her 2 teenage daughters and she was the first one who complained to the company.  She actually called the company that she booked with and had her driver fired on the spot.  She later said that she did not feel safe with him, which surprised all of us. But having got to know her a little bit, I tend to think she over-reacts.  She may not have in this situation, but I know she over-reacted to some other things with the group, which led most of us to believe she was over-reacting again.  Whether she was right to do what she did or not, who knows, but she did take action.  Would you have done the same?

Our group with our driver Juma

After this incident there was more talk between the group about how we felt.  The 4 other people my husband and I were with were happy with our driver and with the service we were receiving.  We had no problems.  We did find out that there were others in the group who had some complaints. They had decided to wait till they got home to put in their comments, but since action had already been taken, the company was immediately wanting our feedback.  They wanted to know if we were unhappy with our drivers and did we want them replaced also.  We loved our driver, Juma, and were concerned he would lose his job because the other driver was fired, and there were some complaints about the third driver.  Everyone in our land rover expressed our happiness with our driver. 

After we returned home the company contacted me and wanted to know everything that had happened and how I felt about the trip.  They were accessing whether to keep the company they had hired in Tanzania or to get a new company.  They were interested in everything that had happened and our feelings.  They sent me a voucher good for a discount on our next trip with them, even though I was basically happy with the service we received.  I'm not sure if they sent the unhappy people a larger voucher, it is certainly possible.

So, if this happens to you, would you call immediately, or wait until you got home.  I guess it would depend on how unhappy you were, and if calling then would change anything.  In her case, she was happier with a new driver.  If you were unhappy about something that had already happened and it couldn't be changed, then complaining when you got home might at least give you a partial refund or a voucher for future travel. 


Our Tent in the Serenget
Some didn't think these qualified as luxury tents

If you do need to put in a complaint, then how do you go about it.  In her case, she used her cell phone and called.  I know my cell phone would not have worked in Africa, but I could have emailed the company and probably have gotten a quick response.  If you are complaining after you get home, then there are several ways to go about it.  If you booked through a travel agent then I would go and tell the agent what happened.  The agent will have a company representative with that company and going directly to the rep will have more pull then on your own.  As a travel agent I handled complaints such as that for clients, and usually got very positive results.  If you booked on your own then the best thing is to put it in writing and either email or mail the letter to the company.  Even if you call them, they will ask for something in writing, so best to just start that way.

But however you handle it, if you are unhappy then you should let the company know.  It is your vacation, you paid a lot of money to go, and you should have happy memories when you come home.  If something has spoiled it, then talk to the company.  You may get a refund, or not.  But by telling them the problem, you may stop it from happening in the future, and help someone else.